No-Fault Divorce – Now Available in Maryland

The grounds for divorce available in Maryland have been expanding in recent years and, effective October 1, 2023, they expand even further.

Where Things Stand Now

Before October 1, 2023, spouses could  seek a divorce without any waiting period, without a declared reason for doing so, but only if all issues of custody, support, and property had been resolved by the parties in a written agreement before heading to Court.

For those who hadn’t been able to reach an agreement on all these issues, a one-year separation was required, or some other fault grounds had to be proven, to permit the Court to grant a divorce (and make final rulings regarding alimony and property division). Those other fault grounds included adultery, desertion, criminal convictions resulting in significant incarceration, insanity, cruelty, and excessively vicious conduct.

Unlike all those Hollywood movies, “irreconcilable differences” had never been a ground for divorce in Maryland.

Where Are We Headed?

Public policy is shifting away from laws that make it difficult for parties to divorce.

Maryland spouses will still be able to seek a divorce without any waiting period, and without a declared reason for doing so, if all issues of custody, support, and property have been resolved by the parties in a written agreement before heading to Court.

However, effective October 1, 2023, spouses are now also be able to seek a divorce by virtue of either a six-month separation or simply by alleging “irreconcilable differences” in their pleading.

The law won’t require this separation to be a physical separation. Rather, the six-month “separation” will include arrangements wherein spouses may still live together but “have pursued separate lives”.

The fault-based grounds for divorce, such as adultery, desertion, criminal convictions resulting in significant incarceration, insanity, cruelty, and excessively vicious conduct, will no longer be available, nor will they be required to obtain a divorce or final adjudication of property or support issues.

Moreover, “limited divorce” proceedings – permitting parties to obtain interim financial relief while the separation period was passing, will be no more, as parties divorcing on the grounds of “irreconcilable differences” will have no separation or waiting period.

What Will This Mean?

Will this expedite our client’s Maryland divorces being finalized?  Maybe!

For those who have been able to reach an agreement on custody, support, and all financial issues incident to their divorce, there will be no change, as the waiting period for this subset of divorcing parties had already been eliminated.

But for those divorcing parties who aren’t so agreeable, it is possible this change in the law will result in a quicker finalization of their divorce, with two caveats: (1) significant backlogs remain in some courthouses resulting from the COVID closures, meaning that even if you can immediately file for divorce, your hearing date may be a year from filing, or even later; and (2) even where there is no backlog, many months of pre-trial discovery and mediation efforts may transpire, particularly in the more complex financial cases.

And will it matter anymore that your spouse committed adultery? Or treated you poorly? Maybe! The Court will continue to consider the parties’ respective behaviors during the marriage when determining how to equitably divide the marital property, how to assess alimony, if at all, and what custody arrangement is in the best interest of the parties’ children, if any.

If you’re interested in learning more about divorce in Maryland, or specifically how this change in the law could affect your case, contact Meg Rosan, Esq., at (301) 656-1177, or mrosan@bulmandunie.com. Meg is also regularly appointed as a mediator by the Maryland courts and can help you mediate your family law conflict.